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I was recently diagnosed on July 18, 2011. After a night of having a few cocktails at a local bar, all of us decided to get tested on our way out to a mobile HIV testing unit. I do not recommend for anyone to utilize these mobile units they can be very embarrassing if around with friends and unprofessional, well at least with the counselor that had tested me. Once I received the news on antibodies detected the next day I had made an appointment to see an HIV specialist (doctor) did all lab work and VL was at 75K Tcells at 478. This week had a discussion with my doctor and had two options Complera or Atripla, I decided to start Complera next week. Is anyone else starting or have started Complera? Really nervous and scared about starting my regimen…

hi LTNsoul,welcome to the forums, sorry about your diagnosis.. Its normal to feel little scared and anxious at the beginning. I'm sure you will do just fine i've heard good things about the compleara as far as less side effects. just give yourself some time to get used to them then most of the side effects go away after a few weeks.

i was frightened to take my first pill, but once I took it that went away.

I take Atripla, but I know a few folks in here have taken the new drug

I too was recently diagnosed positive on August 17, 2011 and really only found out because I was wanting to start this weight loss pill Phentermine and a blood sample was needed to test that the medication would not be dangerous to my health. The funny thing is if it werent for me wanting this pill and making up some sob story to my physician to get it due to my obsession to lose weight, I would have never known my status. Needless to say upon going to get the results on whether or not I was able to take Phentermine, I was told my CD4's were low and that I tested positive. I was referred to my HIV specialist I have now to help me understand and better treat my diagnosis with proper care. Ive since focused less on weight loss and more on how I was going to take care of myself from this point onwards. I am not going to sit here and pretend I'm not at all a lil scared but I'm in a place now of acceptance and have developed a mental strength to not let my condition control me but yet me control it. I'm 34 yr old male and want to continue being around for awhile, and with the help of forums like this that I just recently found by total accident however glad I did, my relationship with my higher power, as well as other sources of support, I feel I will be. I also figured if a pill a day is going to help me see more life and help fight this longer sign me up. I started Complera on 9/24/11 and after speaking with my doctor he suggested this medicine due to it fitting my lifestyle and having little to no side effects. I'm a lil nervous because it is new and I haven't found to many sites or others on it to see how it is doing for them. I will say that as for side effects, I have not suffered any stated and I was told if I would, they would happen within the first weeks so I guess things are going in a good direction. I see my doctor in a few weeks just to see how being on Complera a month is doing for me so we shall see...

Hey guys, I too recently found out I was + less then 2 weeks ago I have done everything I can to research about the virus, what it does to the body, and how to take control and live normal healthy long life. Anywho I just had my labs taken and waiting to see the HIV specialist next week for the results. I've done alot of research on the meds atripla and the newer complera. Based on what i've gathered atripla has done a great job at keeping people's VL u/d and CD4 up. Now i've also read complera to do the same thing however with fewer side affects and also its suppose to also get into the brain where atripla doesn't manage get. Also Complera might be easier on your liver and/or kidney's if that is even a valid statement.

How have you guys been doing on Complera, how do you feel? and feel or felt any side affects?

I take Complera, and the two side effects I had where, insomnia and mood changes. The mood changes/anger were pretty severe for about a week (2nd week on the drug) but both the insomnia and the mood issues have resolved themselves.

LtnSoulMix, I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis man. It will be ok. This is manageable and many people are living with this day to day. I, too, was recently diagnosed in September so I understand where you are coming from in the beginning stage. I say do as much research as you can till you reach your comfort level. Write down questions for your doctor and make sure to get the answers. You control your treatment and make sure that you understand what is going on. The people here for the most part are a wealth of information and most are very friendly.

csguy1, I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis also. The message above is for you also. I am not on complera but on Prezista, Norvir, and Truvada. Seems to be working for me though the thought of one pill sounds better. I will talk to my Doc next visit in Feb to see about changing regiments. I do have a lot of Acne now that I am on this regiment but it is not that intolerable.

Wjaxon, Thanks appreciate your reply and feedback. It looks like the regiment you are on seems to be working quite well for you. I am hopeful you will be UD by your next visit to your ID doc. I get my blood work results on Thursday. Of course I'm a little nervous since it will be my first results. I feel I have come to terms with it and I am happy I'm doing what I should to get this Virus under control and manageable.

LtnSoulMix, I'm interested in seeing how you are doing on Complera or if you and your doc decided on going on another regiment. Hope all is well.

Wjaxon, Thanks to people like you and this forum I was able to do my research and question my IDS regarding Complera. I decided to go with Complera after speaking with a couple of great members that also started Complera at the same time. I must admit the first evening I took the pill was the worst, had a fever of 103, next morning felt so much better with minor side effects that only lasted a couple of days. 9 weeks after starting the once a day pill my lab results were VL u/d CD4 went up to 649.

Csguy1, thank you for sharing your story. Hope everything is going well. So far, I have been feeling great back to my normal self again. For me the first month on Complera was a rollercoaster with the side effects, I had my good and bad days. Trouble sleeping, at times I felt like vomiting if I didn’t have a complete meal. Now I have no side effects at all, I must admit

As other have said welcome to the forums there is a ton of great information available here. I took Atripla without any major problems and then four months ago my ID doctor switched me to Complera. No side effects (luckily) which is nice, and it's easy to take since its another one pill regiment. My only advice is to remember to eat at least 400 calories each time you take it. My ID doctor told me it's better absorbed with sold food than using a protein shake. Also ask your doctor for the co-pay card!

Hi all- So glad this forum is here. Your stories are a lot like mine. I had no idea I was positive. I found out on 12/7, again quite by accident--routine visit to the doc who noticed I hadn't been tested in over a year. I've been in a monogamous relationship so there was no reason to suspect otherwise. My partner is neg. I got it before this relationship, and thankfully haven't given it to him. (He's been great, btw...totally sticking by my side and through education I think we'll be together for the long haul).

I started Complera about a week ago. I've really had no side effects at all, physically. maybe some mild stomach upset and slight headache, but then again I'm hyper sensitive right now so I could attribute those to almost anything--anxiety included.

I try to stay in gratitude for the whole thing: grateful I have a good doc who knows what he's doing, I have medication available to me, I have a good support network and solid spiritual practice, and I have additional community support in my city as well--and of course this forum.

For those of you who've been on Complera longer, have you noticed any other effects?

And what does it mean to be "undetectable?" VL less than 50? I forgot to ask my doc. I go back first part of Feb to be tested again after 30 days on Complera.

Thanks for being here. Together we are definitely stronger than we are alone.

Moose, the only side effect I've had on Complera was at about week 4, there was a couple weeks where I had rage issues. It took nothing to set me off. Lot's of others have had the same side effect, and like me it went away after about 10 days. Other than that, it's been no different than taking my daily vitamin.

I started Complera on November 13th. Had my first lab results back today. Very Happy with the results.

my viral load is UD and my percentage is up to 28%!!! Very Happy with those numbers. My CD4 hasn't risen like I had hoped it would but I don't have a baseline for pre-infection so maybe 630's is really normal for me.

Thanks, Scottieman. I'm glad you're happy. I'm a total newbie, so I don't know what the percentages mean. Are you undetectable? Let me know if that's not something you're comfortable sharing.

When it comes to CD4/Complera, my doc (if I remember correctly) told me it doesn't tend to raise CD4 as quickly as some other drugs, but for people with relatively low VL (I was 35,000) it actually outperforms other drugs in the longer run in terms of raising CD4--so yours may keep rising.

I also have no baseline to compare it to, but I know anything above 500 is considered normal...so sounds like you're doing great.

Thanks for the tip on the anger issue. Did you have any fatigue? I can't decide if it's just stress (this is all so very new for me) or if I'm really feeling a side effect.

Yes my VL is now Undetectable. As far as fatigue goes, I had a little at first, but like you attributed it to stress more than anything. Now I don't notice anything out of the ordinary when it comes to daily life.